Abstract
We argue that the secular cannot offer a materialist response to “The Problem of Too Many Thinkers” that makes autonomy possible. The materialist can accommodate what truths about respecting personal freedom and autonomy only by accepting a counterintuitive sparse ontology. Immaterial accounts of the person look good by comparison. However, those immaterialist theories that don't posit a divinely created soul suffer from certain metaphysical puzzles avoided by those who do claim divine creation. A soul that requires divine creation strongly suggests that such immaterial beings were made for a purpose. Such purposeful creation makes theistic ethics seem far more plausible.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 411-431 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Philosophia Christi |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2016 |
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